Methods for Long-Term and Continuous Filtration of Draft Beer Without Using a Centrifuge

Abstract
We embarked on establishing methods for the long-term and continuous
filtration of draft beer, using our existing candle filter system without a
centrifuge, toward the goals of productivity improvement, cost reduction,
order-driven production with flexible output, and others. This study shows some
of the methods that proved to be quite effective, such as optimizing precoating
and kieselguhr mixtures and dosage and establishing an evaluation procedure for
young beer. Relative to precoat optimization, we discovered that kieselguhr
could be uniformly coated on the elements by modifying the method and timing of
the kieselguhr slurry addition. In the kieselguhr mixture optimization,
modifying the kieselguhr mixtures minimized the differential pressure increase.
Relative to dosage optimization, optimizing the flow volume reduced both the
amount of cake buildup and the differential pressure increase. In the
evaluation test of young beer, relativity was discovered between the number of
yeast cells in young beer and the differential pressure increase. Accordingly,
an effective filtration pattern was created by precounting the number of yeast
cells in the young beer prior to filtration and adjusting the filtration
parameters accordingly. We are reporting the methods mentioned above as they
relate to long beer filtration cycles while maintaining the filtering function
to trap microorganisms and the quality of foam retention, as well as the results
of the forcing test and others.